FLORIDA — Judith Cruz, CEO of Treasure Coast Food Bank, has been named president of the Florida Association of Food Banks, the statewide organization that oversees the efforts of Florida’s 14 regional food banks.
Cruz, who previously served as vice president, was named president in July. Under her leadership, she will work to expand the FAFB’s role in getting fresh produce on the tables of hungry people throughout Florida through the Farmers Feeding Florida program.
“We’re working as hard as we can to access as much fresh produce as possible,” Cruz said. “In Florida, we’re uniquely positioned to do this because of the state’s 10-month growing season and our partnership with farmers.”
The program enables the FAFB to get healthy produce to families in need of food who often don’t have the budget for fresh fruits and vegetables, and it enables the state’s farmers to be able to donate produce that otherwise would not have been sold.
FAFB works with the state’s 14 regional food banks, supplying more than 3,000 community and faith-based non-profits who collectively feed more than 3 million people each year.
Other officers for 2012 are: Vice President David Reaney of Bay Area food Bank that serves the Gulf Coast, Treasurer Mike Oberle of Lakeland-based Agape Food Bank, Secretary Paco Velez of Feeding South Florida, which serves Southeast Florida, and Cheryl Phoenix of Second Harvest, based in Tallahassee.
